FAIRFIELD, Conn.--General Electric Co. plans to auction off its Louisville, Ky.-based appliances business.

GE said in a statement that the auction is part of the company’s plan to exit “slower growth and more volatile businesses."

Based in Fairfield, Conn., GE’s manufactures home appliances like ovens and refrigerators.

Because GE’s sales are predominantly based in the U.S., its revenue hinges on “the rise and fall of a single market," according to the statement.

Sales from GE’s appliance business are expected to slack this year by 10 to 12%, according to the AP. Last year, the appliance business had revenue of $7 billion.

GE has hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) to run an auction for the appliance division, according to the Wall Street Journal, which quoted unidentified sources. The sale could yield between $5 billion and $8 billion, the Journal reported.

GE last year took in $11.6 billion in its sale of its plastics division. Chief Executive Jeff Immelt has been under pressure to restructure the industrial and financial conglomerate, particularly since last month's surprising first-quarter earnings report that profit fell 6%.

GE entered the appliance business in 1907. Revenue for GE's Louisville-based industrial business, which includes appliance manufacturing, was nearly $17.73 billion in 2007, down slightly from $17.74 billion in 2006.

Total revenue for GE last year was $172.7 billion.